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Rain Man

This is my hubby. We met through a dating service. He was my 11th match. I was his 1st. I continued to date people after we met....he didn't. We don't really make sense "on paper", but we make perfect sense in real life!

D-man

D-Man

This is my first born. He is funny, smart, sarcastic and obsessed with baseball. He loves UGA and will graduate spring of 2020 with a degree in Economics and Political Science (with a minor in German)

A-Girl

A-Girl is my oldest girl, my first C-Section and likes a lot of the same things I do. She attends a small Christian university in North Georgia and is on a golf/academic scholarship. She is smart, sweet, talented and super funny.

L-Girl

L-Girl is my second girl. She is full of energy and ideas and is a lot of fun. She is super dedicated and an incredibly hard worker. She will graduate from high school in the spring of 2020 and will be heading to UGA as an Exercise Science major. I used to say she was just like her dad....but the older she gets to is becoming more like me (don't tell her!)

A-Man

This young man is not easily forgotten by anyone who meets him. He has lots and lots and lots of energy and lots and lots and lots of ideas of things to try and just see what happens. Usually the results get him and trouble and then Mom and Dad laugh behind closed doors. (I wrote that description when he was about 5 - and it still applies!) The taller version of him is still super funny and smart. He is also an incredibly gifted athlete and musician.

S-Girl

This young lady is always thinking and planning for the future. She has already started her own business (she actually has a few successful side gigs) and has even competed on a televised baking competition. She is a super dedicated student and is truly friends with all her siblings due to her sweet and thoughtful nature. Plus, their favorite thing to do is to get her laughing - because it is contagious and once she starts, she cannot stop.

V-Girl

This is my baby. She has been walking since 9 months and has been a lot of fun and trouble ever since. (I wrote that 10 years ago and it still applies) She has been striving to keep up with ALL her siblings since day one. She is determined to be just as good if not better than all of them....at everything! She is clever and quick on her feet, and is the best most thoughtful gift giver I have ever seen. She is fearless for the big stuff and timid for the small stuff. It is a super fun and interesting mix.

Thursday, May 9, 2013

This is a review of a book by Diane Flynn Keith, called Papa's Pearls.

This is a wonderful, little gem of a book.

The subtitle is - A Father's Gift of Love and Wisdom to His Children and Grandchildren.

What I took away from this book is that we should all write one of these books about our parents.

I am fairly sure that Diane's "Papa" didn't know he was giving her the inspiration or catch phrases for a book she would one day write about him. He was just being himself. He was just sharing what he truly believed.

This book is really sort of a love letter from Diane to her dad....her Papa.

But, I know if that is what I say it is, I will be limiting the people that continue reading this review...and also those that would consider purchasing the book to read it. And, if I did that, it would be a shame.

Because......this book is inspirational. It is thought inducing. It made me want to be a better mom. It made me want to be awakened every morning with a backrub. (Read the book and you will get that last one....because, seriously....that is how I want to be woken up!)

Papa's Pearls gave me ideas of ways to handle things with the kids....and sometimes, even confirmed that somethings I am already doing or saying were good things.

In many ways, Papa reminded me of my dad. That sort of no nonsense, do what needs to be done, kind of true man.

Papa would say to his children, "You know that I love you, right?"

I feel like I could turn this review into a long list of quotes from Papa. Some really are just common sense, but since there doesn't seem to be a lot of that in the world anymore....somehow the sentiments seem more earth shattering than they should.

But, I don't want to give you the quotes without giving you Diane's stories behind them. They make them real. They make them personal. They usually awakened a story or two in me of something my mom or dad did.

But, most of all, it inspired me to make sure that my kids know I love them, that I have their back, and, that sometimes it is okay to walk away from things.

I actually used Papa's "You know I love you, right?" phrase recently after A-girl and I had a disagreement about some clothing choices she wanted to make. She was not happy with me. She really didn't agree with what I said, and sort of huffed out of the room angry with me. When she got to the door, I stopped her and said, "You know I love you, right?" She said a sort of mumbled, "Yeah". But, she got it. Papa helped remind me how important those words are...especially when you get into tense situations with your kids.

Portions of this book really did remind me of my dad. My dad always talked about "trigger words" and the power of words. He always encouraged us to speak positive things about ourselves and our situation (even if that wasn't necessarily what we were feeling at the time). He said the positive words would sort of become a self-fulfilling prophecy for us.

Papa was like that too. He was "fantastic".....even when maybe he wasn't.

I highly, highly, highly recommend this book. I really sort of recommend it for anyone - whether you are raising kids now and need some ideas. Whether you have already raised your kids and want to walk down memory lane a bit - or even get some ideas on parenting your grown children....or ideas on grandparenting. Or even if you don't even have kids yet....that might be the best audience yet to be inspired by Papa.

Or maybe reading this book will inspire you to write down some stories from someone in your family to pass along their wisdom to another generation!

It really is a great book. It is only about 100 pages of easy reading stories about Papa, his choices and life lessons about parenthood and even being a good spouse.

You can get a copy directly from the author (autographed) for $21.97 - which includes shipping and handling, or, you can get it through Amazon for a little less.

Diane Flynn Keith has other websites that you may want to check out, in addition to Papa's Pearls. Here are a few of my favorites:

Carschooling.com - is just what it sounds like.Homefires.com - Check out her article entitled "Yes, My Grown Homeschooled Children Are Odd - And Yours Will be Too" I especially like this thought from that article - Speaking about homeschooled children......They haven't been conditioned to be passive and compliant or dependent on others to tell them what to do or how to spend their time. They are not powerless. They have the choice to remove themselves from bad situations or people and change the curriculum when it's not relevant, interesting, useful, or meaningful.